Each day more people are able to create amazing things with a Glowforge than the day before. That’s very exciting and very humbling for those of us who work at Glowforge. The community that has developed here has been breathtakingly kind, generous and helpful as new members join the group. This community would not exist without you, and we’re extraordinarily fortunate to have each and every one of you here.
As we grow, it’s important to us that we maintain the high standards of the community that you created. This starts with our community guidelines and continues with each of you. When you see posts that don’t adhere to the guidelines or posts that detract from the community, please let us know by clicking the flag icon. That highlights it for us to review.
What happens to flagged posts?
Every flagged post is reviewed by a staff member. Depending on the post, we might:
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Dispose of the flag. Sometimes posts are flagged just so that we see them (for example, if someone accidentally posts personal information and it needs to be removed). If we dispose of the flag, nothing happens.
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Uphold the flag. If we uphold the flag, the system tracks it as a flagged post and notifies the author. Too many flagged posts can cause a topic to be temporarily locked by the system; authors with too many flagged posts may find they may not be able to post as frequently. Because flags can be subjective, we often uphold flags only when two or more community members flag the same post.
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Contact the author. We’re all human, sometimes conversations get heated, or we don’t realize that we’ve wandered off course. Warnings are there to help us get back on track so we can continue contributing positively to the community.
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Delete the post. Some flagged posts are deleted for violating community guidelines.
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Temporarily suspend the author. Some posts can have serious negative impacts on the community. Criticizing individuals rather than ideas, providing information that the poster knows to be incorrect, or impinging on the intellectual property rights of others are examples of things that may result in a temporary suspension - particularly if they occur more than once.
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Permanently suspend the author. We hate to see anyone go. However, even more than that, we hate to see the positive contributions of so many of you overshadowed by repeated violations of the community standards. Those standards exist to create a place where you can enjoy contributing and that serves as a resource for all of us to learn and grow. When an individual demonstrates that they do not intend to respect the community’s guidelines, they may be permanently suspended from the forum. (Of course, they can still use their Glowforge, and obtain support via email).
We rarely need moderation to intervene in the community, and we hope to keep it that way. There are typically hundreds or thousands of posts without a single flag. We’ve gone years without a suspension. At the same time, we owe all of you support in keeping the community as friendly and helpful as you have all made it.
We provide a forum for all constructive conversation, even if it’s critical of us. We recognize that moderation will be all art and no science. We realize that we’re human and make mistakes. Our north star in the forum is you - what you flag for our attention, and how we can act on it to make this forum better for you.
It’s an amazing place, and we’ll do everything we can to keep it that way for you.
Q&A:
Q: If someone flags my posts just because they disagree with me, will the moderators delete my posts or suspend me?
A: No. There are two considerations: was it flagged, and did it violate the rules. Sometimes, a heated discussion will cause controversial opinions to be flagged. If they don’t violate the rules, though, the flags are not upheld, so no action is taken.
Q: Will the moderators delete my posts for being critical of Glowforge?
A: No. We welcome constructive opinions and information. We only delete flagged posts that violate the rules, and there are no rules against being critical of us (or about providing information about other laser companies, which we welcome as well). We only ask that you be agreeable, even when you disagree.
Q: What if I didn’t know that I did something wrong?
A: People make mistakes. When the moderators take action on a post, we’ll let you know why.
